Page:History of Greece Vol I.djvu/142

 HO HISTORY OF GREECE. Iphiklos, full of wonder at this specimen cf prophetic pov,er, immediately caused him to be released. He further consulted him respecting the condition of his son Iphiklos, who was child- less ; and promised him the possession of the oxen on condition of his suggesting the means whereby offspring might be ensured. A vulture having communicated to Melampus the requisite information, Podarkes, the son of Iphiklos, was born shortly afterwards. In this manner Melampus obtained possession of the oxen, and conveyed them to Pylos, obtaining for his brother Bias the hand of Pero. 1 How this great legendary character, by mi- raculously healing the deranged daughters of Proetos, procured both for himself and for Bias dominion in Argos, has been re- counted in a preceding chapter. Of the twelve sons of Neleus, one at least, Periklymenos, h*j- Bides the ever-memorable Nestor, was distinguished for his ex ploits as well as for his miraculous gifts. Poseidon, the divine father of the race, had bestowed upon him the privilege of changing his form at pleasure into that of any bird, beast, reptile, or insect. 2 He had occasion for all these resources, and he employed them for a time with success in defending his family against the terrible indig- nation of Herakles, who, provoked by the refusal of Neleus to per- form for him the ceremony of purification after his murder of Iphi- tus, attacked the Neleids at Pylos. Periklymenos by his extraor- dinary powers prolonged the resistance, but the hour of his fate was at length brought upon him by the intervention of Athene, who pointed him out to Herakles while he was perched as a bee upon the hero's chariot. He was killed, and Herakles became completely victorious, overpowering Poseidon, Here, Ares, and Hades, and even wounding the three latter, who assisted in the 1 Horn. Od. xi. 273 ; xv. 234. Apollod. i. 9, 12. The basis of this curi- ous romance is in the Odyssey, amplified by subsequent poets. There are points however in the old Homeric legend, as it is briefly sketched in the fifteenth book of the Cdyssey, which seem to have been subsequently left ont or varied. Neleus seizes the property of Melampus during his absence ; the latter, returning with the oxen from Phylak6, revenges himself upon NClens for the injury. Odyss. xv. 233. 556 ; Eustath. ad Odyss. xi. p. 284. Poseidon carefully protects Antilochni son of Nestor, in the Iliad, xiii. 554-563.
 * Hcsio3, Catalog, ap Schol. Apollon. Rhod. i. 156; Ovid, Metam. xii. p.